Klitschko brothers: In Kiev with the boxing world's toughest heavyweights | Daily Mail Online comments They’re the giant heavyweight champions of the world yet the Klitschkos have PhDs, play chess and are going into politics (but are still scared of their mum...) Vitali Klitschko (right), 40, and his brother Wladimir (left), 36, have dominated the boxing world's heavyweight division for nearly a decade In the bitter cold of the Ukraine winter a Ferrari glides to a stop outside the Serebro nightclub. It joins a fleet of Bentleys, Hummers and Range Rovers, out of which a seemingly endless procession of women draped in furs emerge to a barrage of photographic flashes. They cluster around the doorway to one of the most expensive and exclusive nightclubs in Kiev, the capital of a nation awash with oil, money – and corruption. Suddenly the throng parts as the hulking frame of Vitali Klitschko moves through with speed and purpose.

As well as brawn (Vitali is 6ft 7in tall, Wladimir is 6ft 6in) they have brains In the ring, the current World Boxing Council champion is known as Dr Ironfist, because he is the only champion, apart from his brother, to have a PhD (in sports science). I fall in behind his hatchet-faced bodyguards and we disappear into the heart of the club, passing by the actor Jean Claude Van Damme, who’s sitting with a brunette slurping chilled vodka on ice. Vitali gives me a smile as he steps in front of a TV camera. This is the post-premiere party for Klitschko, a documentary about Vitali, 40, and his brother Wladimir, 36, who have dominated the sport’s heavyweight division for nearly a decade. It is a homecoming for the fabled brothers and a return to their roots after glory-filled careers that see them both sitting on sizeable fortunes. But the story of the Klitschkos is not as straightforward as it seems.

As well as brawn (Vitali is 6ft 7in tall, his brother 6ft 6in) they have brains. They turned down flamboyant boxing promoter Don King and instead run their own multi-million-pound empire. They are obsessive chess players, studying tactics and strategy, which they then employ in the boxing ring. And now Vitali wants to run for mayor of Kiev, something potentially more dangerous than when he was left blooded in his fight with Lennox Lewis, who was then the undisputed world champion. ‘Ukrainian politics is dangerous,’ he says. ‘But I know better than anyone that without a fight, there is no victory.’ ‘They are not just men,’ says one man at the party. ‘For us Ukrainians, they are gods.’ Standing next to Wladimir Klitschko is like being in the shadow of a huge oak tree. Dr Steelhammer, as he is also known, shakes my hand in his huge paw. Wladimir (left) and Vitali posing with handguns in 1999. 'Your brother gives you extra strength. I look in his eyes and know exactly what he is thinking.

But we never hug each other,' said Wladimir The current world champion (57 wins, 3 losses), he holds the World Boxing Organisation, World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federations and International Boxing Organisation titles simultaneously. The same hands, according to boxing experts, deliver the most powerful blows of any heavyweight ever. Vitali, meanwhile, is the current WBC heavyweight world champion, and holds the second best knockout-to-fight ratio in heavyweight boxing history, after Rocky Marciano. He also heads his own political party, ‘UDAR of Vitali Klitschko’. The young Klitschkos (Vitali is on the left). Despite a difference of four years, they may as well be twins We settle in the side room of a gloomy, post-Soviet hotel in downtown Kiev. Despite a difference of four years, the brothers may as well be twins. ‘Our opponents do not know our secret weapon,’ says Vitali. ‘Even with one person in the ring they are fighting two people, and together we are twice as strong. 'Your brother gives you extra strength. I look in his eyes and know exactly what he is thinking,’ says Wladimir.

‘But we never hug each other.’ Their differing boxing styles are reflective of their different personalities. Vitali fights in black trunks with his hands down, throwing caution to the wind as he destroys opponents with raw power. Wladimir, on the other hand, plays a defensive game, keeping his opponents off with long lancing jabs, waiting for his moment to strike. ‘Emotion in the ring is bad,’ he says. ‘You have to stick with the strategy. You have to be cold-blooded.’ Wladimir is the playboy of the pair, dating a string of American actresses and even starring in Ocean’s Eleven alongside Lennox Lewis; Vitali is altogether more serious, hence his interest in Ukrainian politics. Like all great boxing stories, the Klitschkos’ success came from modest beginnings. Their father, Vladimir, was an air force major general who travelled all over the Soviet Union taking his family with him – Vitali was born in Kyrgyzstan and Wladimir was born in Kazakhstan. Despite their father’s senior rank, they were raised in extreme poverty.

Vitali after winning the WBC heavyweight title in 2010 Their former home on the southern outskirts of Kiev, a mustard-coloured shack, is now dilapidated. The entire family, along with their grandmother, lived in one room for two years. ‘As young boys we even slept together,’ says Wladimir. ‘We were becoming the mirror image of each other. We talked the same way. We looked the same way. We weren’t cloned though, of course.’ They had a strict upbringing. ‘It’s pretty obvious that the Soviet system had an effect on Vitali and me growing up,’ says Wladimir. ‘I was shooting AK-47s. I was learning how to throw hand-grenades. We were running into underground shelters with gas marks, there were explosions.’ He pauses. ‘I was ready to give up my life for my country.’ Elder brother Vitali grew up with Chuck Norris and Arnold Schwarzenegger as heroes. He was a natural at boxing, first as champion of the Ukraine and then of the entire Soviet Union. He came to the attention of organised crime figures, who made him offers as hired muscle. He refused. He visited the U.S.

for the first time on a trip to Florida. For someone who grew up behind the Iron Curtain, raised to fear America and its people, the trip was a revelation. ‘It was warm, like paradise,’ he says. ‘People smiled and were friendly. I saw things I’d never seen before . . . crocodiles on the street. 'And Coca-Cola! I felt we had been brainwashed in the Soviet Union.’ American Shannon Briggs is hit by Vitali during their title bout in 2010 His stories inspired his younger brother. And to the dismay of their mother, who despises boxing, Wladimir soon followed Vitali into the sport. Oleksandr Polishchuk, who helped to train the Klitschkos at the sports school set up under the old Soviet system to create Communist sporting heroes, says the young Wladimir ‘could punch like a horse’. ‘No one wanted to fight him because he could never be touched,’ says Polishchuk. As a solution, the coach asked the basketball team to come in and, while Wladimir had his hands tied behind his back, he instructed them to throw punches at him.

‘It was the only way we could find people tall enough to take shots,’ he says. Even then, no one could lay a glove on him. In fact, the only person who could really take on Wladimir was his brother. They have only fought once. The brothers with their title belts. 'Emotion in the ring is bad. You have to stick with the strategy. You have to be cold-blooded,' said Wladimir. They have only fought each other once ‘I still have the scar on my face,’ says Wladimir. ‘It was the first time I was cut on my face.’ The sparring session turned into all-out war. ‘As you can imagine, it was bloody. We have incredible love for each other, but there is also incredible competition and hate. 'When we were fighting there was so much emotion. No one wanted to give up. And no one wanted to show weakness.’ The fight ended with Wladimir breaking his leg and both promising their mother that they would never fight each other again. It’s a promise they have kept to this day. Vitali with wife Natalia, a former model.

They have three children ‘We are big men, but for our mother we are like kids,’ says Vitali. Shortly after, Wladimir set out to dominate amateur boxing, winning the Junior European Championships. When Vitali tested positive for a banned steroid and was dismissed from the Ukrainian boxing team just before the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, Wladimir took his place and won the super-heavyweight gold medal. When the pair turned professional, America’s shark-like boxing promoters took note. Don King, one-time promoter of Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali, flew the brothers to his mansion in Ohio where he tried to sign them, offering fortunes beyond their wildest dreams. At first, the flamboyant promoter didn’t sit well with the Ukrainians’ sense of loyalty, honour and fairplay. In a bid to show that he wasn’t just a ruthless promoter, King began playing a grand piano in the living room. The brothers were impressed. ‘But then we saw that the pedals were going up and down on their own,’ says Vitali. ‘We decided not to sign the contract. He was not honest.’ The brothers are noted for their business acumen. They promote their own fights and are sponsored by designer label Boss.

Wladimir trains at a secret mountain hideaway in Austria. As a giant of a man he cannot run too far as his body cannot take the pounding so he swims to build up stamina. He breathes through a straw when skipping in order to learn to breathe with minimal amounts of oxygen. Vitali is now at the tail end of his career. Sitting in Kiev, he tells me his sporting regrets. First, that he never got a rematch with Lewis (Vitali was ahead on points during their June 2003 bout when the fight was stopped because of a cut over Vitali’s eye; Lewis was awarded the fight on a technical knockout as a result). Would-be Klitschkos in the gym where the brother used to train And second, that he didn’t knock out the other Brit who has been a thorn in his side, Dereck Chisora, who dared to slap the Ukrainian in their pre-match weigh-in and then spat at his brother before the actual fight in February this year. Nevertheless, Vitali now believes his toughest battle lies ahead. Recently, in parliament, politicians got into a mass brawl during a session, with Vitali in the middle of it.

He was angered that a land redistribution deal benefiting ordinary Ukrainians could not be concluded. Amid a lot of pushing and shoving Vitali warned the other politicians to stay back. Vitali wants Ukraine to adopt a pro-European democratic stance focusing on human rights and anti-corruption. ‘The number of billionaires has doubled in the Ukraine in the past two years,’ he fumes. ‘Do people have a better life? No!’ He softens when talk turns to his wife, Natalia Egorova, a former model, and their three children. Will his two young sons follow him into the ring, I ask? It’s the first time I see Vitali look scared about anything. ‘No, I don’t want them to be professional boxers.’ ‘Klitschko’ is released in select Empire cinemas from the May 21 and is available on Blu-ray and DVD from May 28 KLITSCHKO BROTHERS - YouTube KLITSCHKO BROTHERS Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now.

Please try again later. Published on Dec 4, 2014 Vitali Klitschko (born 19 July 1971) and Wladimir Klitschko (born 25 March 1976), collectively known as the Klitschko brothers are Ukrainian heavyweight boxers.They reside in Germany,[contradiction] where they are media stars. Both brothers made their professional debut on November 6, 1996 in Hamburg. Since then both have been heavyweight world champions in boxing. They have stated they will never fight each other.[1] After a series of injuries, Vitali had a career break of almost four years. In his comeback fight in Berlin on October 11, 2008 he defeated Samuel Peter to regain the title of WBC world heavyweight champion. At that time Wladimir was already world heavyweight champion with the WBO, IBF and IBO. That was the first time in history with two brothers world champions at the same time.[2][3] Vitali retained the WBC Heavyweight Championship until 15th December 2013, relinquishing his belt in pursuit of his political aspirations in his native Ukraine.

On July 2, 2011, Wladimir won the WBA Title, which means that the Klitschko brothers held all of the World Heavyweight Titles simultaneously for 2 years, 5 months & 13 days . The Klitschko brothers jointly run the professional boxing promotion companies "K2 Promotions" and "K2 East Promotions", as well as the "Klitschko Brothers Fund", a charity organization. They appear together on German TV shows and commercials, have a website klitschko.com shared between them, and support each other's training and fights. As of the 10th of October 2013, they have a combined professional boxing record of 108 wins (94 KO's) and 5 defeats. Category Vitali Klitschko News, Profile, Stats, Facts & Video Profile The 42 year old Klitschko is not your typical fighter. He holds a master's degree in social development, a doctorate in sport science, is the leader of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform party and twice ran for mayor of Kiev.

Last year, the 6' 7½" pro-democracy heavyweight told Spiegel Online: "Ukraine is a wonderful country with great potential and hospitable people..." "Unfortunately, we are observing some very negative political developments. Like Yulia Tymoshenko, one opposition leader after another is being placed in prison. That damages Ukraine's image in the eyes of the world..." "Ukraine is transforming itself into an increasingly authoritarian regime." Vitali has won 45 of 47 bouts, amassing 41 knockouts. And while his brother, Wladimir, has arguably beaten better opposition, Vitali has been more impressive. The elder Klitschko, whose fighting style is far more fan-friendly than his brother's, was stopped by Chris Byrd in 2000 and Lennox Lewis in 2003. Both fights were halted as a result injuries he sustained in the ring. A loser of few rounds, Klitschko boasts an impressive 87 percent knockouts-to-fights ratio which is currently the highest of any heavyweight champion in history.

In his most recent fight, Vitali scored a fourth round TKO over previously unbeaten Manuel Charr (21-1, 11 KOs) on September 8, 2012. It's not yet known when or if the pugilist/politician dubbed 'Dr. Ironfist' will fight again. More Info Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko are the first brothers to hold world heavyweight titles at the same time. After Wladimir's win over David Haye on July 2, 2011, all the major heavyweight belts were simultaneously owned by the Klitschko brothers. Son of an Air Force Colonel. Began boxing at the age of 17. Tested positive for a banned substance in 1996 and was thrown off the Ukrainian boxing team for the Atlanta Olympics. He had planned to box at super heavyweight while Wladimir planned to compete as a heavyweight. Wladimir, who was struggling to make weight, took over the super heavyweight slot and went on to win the gold medal. Klitschko was a six-time kickboxing world champion, twice as an amateur and four times as a professional.

His record was 34-1 with 22 knockouts. Earned a Ph.D. in Sports Science Vitali & Wladimir Klitschko: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com Get Heavy's Top 5 News Stories Every Day We will never share your email address. Vitali & Wladimir Klitschko: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know Published 2:00 pm EST, April 25, 2015 Updated 8:44 pm EST, April 25, 2015 Comment By Guy Docetoni 2.4k Share Tweet Share Email Follow Wladimir Klitschko and Vitali Klitschko after defeating US Eddie Chambers in 2010 (Getty) Whether in sports, business, or politics, the Klitschko brothers — Vitali and Wladimir– are a force of nature not to be reckoned with. Here is what you need to know about the bigger-than-life siblings: 1.

The Klitschko Brothers Have Ruled the Heavyweight Division For the Last Decade Wladimir Klitschko and Vitali Klitschko (Getty) Vitali Klitschko and ‘little’ brother Wladimir Klitschko both made their professional boxing debuts on November 6, 1996 and have since gone on to dominate the over-200 pound division, collectively amassing a record of 108-5 with 94 KO’s and becoming the first brothers to hold world heavyweight boxing titles concurrently. Vitali Klitschko (45-2, 41 KO’s) was the first to strike with world title gold, in 1999 with his victory over Herbie Hide he walked away with the WBO world heavyweight belt. Vitali, 43 years old, went on to lose the title in his first career-defeat, at the hands of Chris Byrd . In 2004, 6-foot 7.5-inch Dr.

Ironfist lifted the vacant WBC title with a win over Corrie Sanders and held it until 2004, and again, after returning from a knee injury, from 2008 to 2013, when Vitali retired. Wladimir Klitschko (63-3, 53 KOs) is currently in his eighth year as a titleholder, second only to Joe Louis’s record of 11 years . Wlad, 39 years old, won his first title by avenging his brothers loss to Chris Byrd and winning back the belt Vitali had lost. Now riding a 21-fight winning streak since his last defeat , at the hands of Lamon Brewster in 2004, 6-foot 6.5-inch Wladimir Klitschko holds the IBF, WBA, WBO, IBO, and RING titles and reigns unchallenged in the land of heavyweight giants. 2.

The Klitschko Brothers Promised Their Mother They Would Never Fight Each Other Wladimir Klitschko and Vitali Klitschko (Getty) Born in Semey, Kazakhstan to a Soviet helicopter pilot (Vitali born 19 July 1971; Wladimir, 25 March 1976), the Klitschko boys’ first taste of combat sports came when Vitali, inspired by American karate and action films, took up kickboxing. Retiring from kickboxing with a record of 34–1 with 22 knockouts, Vitali went to work with Ukrainian boxing coach Vladimir Zolotarev, and along with him came kid brother Wladimir. Check out this vintage footage of the Klitschko brothers sparring: In their documentary “ Klitschko ,” Wladimir reveals that, unfortunately for fight fans, their mother made them promise they would never fight each other. “I wouldn’t do it, even for $1 billion,” Wladimir says in the film. “You can’t put a price on a mother’s heart.” What would happen if Vitali “Dr. Ironfist” Klitschko and Wladimir “Dr.

Steelhammer” Klitschko were to meet in the ring? According to RingTV.com’s Doug Fischer : “I think the fight would be fast and furious with Vitali’s face spewing more blood than his younger, more talented brother, but I think Dr. Iron Fist’s chin would hold out better than Dr. Steel Hammer’s beard. I like the current Mayor of Kiev by four- or five-round TKO in a Foreman-Lyle style brawl (but only Baby Bro would hit the deck).” 3. They Both Hold PhDs and Speak Multiple Languages (Getty) All this business of Dr. Ironfist and Dr. Steelhammer stems from the fact that the Klitsch bros both have their PhDs (and that they punch really, really hard.) In 2000 Vitali became the first professional boxing world champion to receive a PhD degree in Sports Science. Wladimir followed him with his own PhD, also from Kiev University. “I’m very happy that I was able to conclude my studies successfully with this title,” said the elder Klitschko . “The doctor degree means as much to me as my winning of the world title against Herbie Hide.

I’m very proud and I would like to thank my family who made things possible.” In addition to their native Ukrainian, the Klitschkos speak Russian, German, and English. ( Wikipedia ) The Klitschko brothers have proven to be just as proficient in the business and political world as they are inside the squared circle. Artist and athlete management , hotels , film distribution , and internet start-ups are only the tip of the iceberg of the Klitschko empire. But the crowning achievement for the Klitschko clan came in June 5, 2014 when Vitali was sworn in as Mayor of Kiev (the capital and largest city in Ukraine). “I want to become Kiev mayor because I love my city very much and want to improve life in it,” Mayor Klitschko told the press in the run-up to the election.

Real Stories: Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko « Real Stories: Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko Q&A with the world heavyweight champions by Davy Rothbart on October 28, 2011 The Klitschko Brothers, Vitali and Wladimir, are the reigning heavyweight boxing champions of the world and arguably among the most dominant fighters in the history of the sport. For years, they have been obliterating opponents, and the two of them now hold all four heavyweight title belts. The Klitschkos grew up in Ukraine before the fall of the U.S.S.R., and now split their time between Germany, Los Angeles, and Kiev, where Vitali has become involved in politics as leader of an opposition party called The Punch. Today, a documentary about the Klitschko brothers opens in New York and Los Angeles; a wider release will follow in subsequent weeks. Klitschko follows the pair from their humble beginnings through their rise to stardom.

The film blends in-the-ring footage with an exploration of the larger forces at play in their lives — the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc, the aftermath of the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl, the brothers’ powerful bond, and notions of how fighters are born and learn to persevere. Grantland’s Davy Rothbart went a few rounds with the Klitschko Brothers (around a conference table in a West Hollywood office building) and spoke with them about their journey to becoming world champions. In the documentary, there’s a fascinating moment, Vitali, where you’re 17 years old and you travel to the United States for the first time with a delegation of Ukrainian boxers. You talk about all the propaganda you experienced growing up in the Soviet Union. What were you expecting when you arrived on U.S. soil? Vitali Klitschko: My whole life I was told that the U.S. was a horrible country. That everyone was aggressive and that crime was out of control and that everywhere you went people were shooting each other in the street. I also was told that Americans wanted to go to war with the Russians and make us their slaves.

At some point, I always believed, I would have to defend my home country against crazy Americans who wanted to control the whole world. Wladimir Klitschko: Just to give you the full contrast, these days we have an American training camp director from Pacific Palisades, California. I explained to him that when I was 12, I was shooting AK-47s, handling hand grenades, running through underground tunnels, practicing drills, and studying how to get along with tank attacks. He said, “What? When I was 12, I was driving to Disney World to visit Mickey Mouse. What the hell were you guys thinking?” Well, we were preparing. We’d basically been brainwashed. So when you arrived in America, how did you reconcile what you’d heard with what you saw? Vitali: I was in total shock. I couldn’t understand why people were so friendly — more friendly than Russia! Good food, beautiful beaches I felt like a little kid, in awe of things. I always thought there was only one type of cheese, you know, the thing we’d always called “cheese.” And in a grocery store, I saw a hundred kinds of cheese! It was amazing.

My mouth was hanging open. When I came home, everybody wanted to know what the U.S. was like. At the time, it was easier for a Russian to travel to the moon than to the United States. When I explained what I’d seen, it made quite an impression on people. Wladimir: He brought me back a special gift — a bottle of Coca-Cola. In the Soviet Union, everyone had heard of Coca-Cola, but nobody had tasted it! I was so happy. And I understand you developed a taste for Western movies, too? Wladimir: We had Chuck Norris posters on the wall of our room, and a lot of Arnold Schwarzenegger posters. I loved Conan the Barbarian and The Terminator. Red Heat was the best. Are there fighters or athletes who have inspired you? Wladimir: I would say that Roger Federer is pretty amazing. And Manny Pacquiao — he’s such a tiny, little lightweight guy, but the way he fights makes people so excited. And I went to a basketball game a couple of times here in L.A. to see the Lakers, and in Florida to see the Miami Heat. I loved to see all those big, tall guys jumping around and making scores.

I know he’s retired, but I’m a big fan of Shaquille O’Neal, his game and his personality. I have a pair of his shoes in my office. You see the size of his shoe and think, This is not real, this couldn’t belong to a human being. But he is human! You guys were 10 and 14 in 1986, at the time of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. How did that affect you? Wladimir: We lived just 60 miles from the accident site, near the Kiev airport, on a military base where our father worked. I remember helicopters and airplanes taking off and landing constantly, leaving for Chernobyl to drop off lead to absorb the radiation. Vitali: Our father was one of the first on the scene. He spent months there working on radiation containment and cleanup. Wladimir: When cars and military vehicles came back from Chernobyl, they would wash them off at the base where we lived. The water they used to rinse off the cars formed big puddles. Me and my brother and our friends would play in the puddles with little paper boats. At the time, no one knew how serious the radiation problems were.

Eventually, all the kids from my school were evacuated and sent down to the Azov Sea in southern Ukraine. Much of the city was emptied. But Vitali stayed. Vitali: The explosion affected the life of our family and also millions of people around the world. Our father, he died two months ago from cancer. The doctors said it was a result of his contact with nuclear fallout. I have never cried so much. Wladimir: A few weeks ago I went to visit Chernobyl for the first time. I had to see the place. You carry these radiation meters with you, and there are rules about where you can walk and where you can’t. Radiation is hard to comprehend — you can’t smell it, you can’t feel it, it’s not warm, it’s not cold, you can’t see it in the air, but still it remains. I went to a school where one of the classrooms had been left untouched, just like it was on April 26, 1986. It was eerie, like a time machine — everything looked the way things had looked in Soviet times, with all of the same books we’d had in my classroom when I was a kid.

The attendance sheet on the teacher’s desk was marked “April 25,” which was a Friday. The explosion happened on Saturday. What do you think are the lessons to be learned from Chernobyl? Wladimir: That nuclear plants are not stable. Just one mistake through technology or human hand can cost lives for generations to come. We’re only seeing the beginning with what has happened in Fukushima, Japan. Even the United States had a near meltdown on Three Mile Island. These tragedies aren’t local. Radiation doesn’t recognize borders. A meltdown in Japan or India, say, is a danger to the whole world. Wind circulates the radiation everywhere. Water quality is affected. We all eat the same fish. We use products from all over the world — if something is contaminated, it will cause harm. After Chernobyl, thousands and thousands of people, if not millions, were given a death penalty and had to pay the price, our father among them. Did you see any hopeful signs for the people living around Chernobyl? Wladimir: I’d heard about how bad things are, and, yes, there are a lot of health issues for people, especially the kids. But I also see people rebuilding and carrying forward.

Me and my brother are financing some projects for kids in Zone 2 and Zone 3. These are the communities closest to Chernobyl (Zone 1 is uninhabitable). I understand why people would choose to return — this is home to them — so we want to help make it the best place to live that we can. Vitali, you’ve recently taken an interest in politics. You ran twice, unsuccessfully, to be the mayor of Kiev, and your Punch party has claimed a large number of seats in local legislatures. As someone who’s used to winning, is it different being in the political ring than the boxing ring? Vitali: There’s a huge difference. Politics is a dirty game. We have our rules in boxing. In politics, no rules. Especially a young democracy like Ukraine. It’s more like MMA. Wladimir: Or backyard fighting. Vitali: Ukraine has huge potential. It’s a great country — the second-biggest in Europe, with almost 50 million people. We just celebrated our 20-year anniversary of independence. But in 20 years, we have not seen big results. It’s very painful to read about Ukraine as the most corrupt country in the world.

We can change a lot of things and increase the standard of life for everyone in Ukraine to the level of the U.S. and countries in Western Europe. But first we have to change the rules of the game inside Ukraine. How do you believe that you, personally, can best effect change? Vitali: From inside. Look, we can make demonstrations, but it doesn’t work. We can knock on the door, and the doors will be closed. But if we enter the realm of politics and work from inside, there is potential for change. Sports has given me the opportunity to travel around the world and see new countries and meet so many different people. I’ve gained new perspectives. Now we have more than 10,000 people as members of our party. To all of them we stress the importance of two things: a moral approach to life, and professionalism. We are preparing for the parliamentary elections next year. It won’t be easy, but if we can win even a fraction of the seats in the new parliament, we’ll have a chance to make real, lasting change in the Ukraine. It’s an exciting time in the world — democracy, in all its different shapes, is rolling around to new countries all the time.

To have a chance to shape the democracy in my home country is an honor. Vitali, you have two sons and a daughter. If one of them said they were interested in pursuing boxing, what advice would you have? Vitali: Well, they have always preferred horse racing, tennis, chess, and the piano. But the oldest one, who’s almost 12, just a couple of months ago he said, “I want to be a boxer.” I was like, Okaaaaay. Boxing is a good sport, but I told him, “Hey, it’s not easy.” I know it looks great and he sees his father on the red carpet, in the limelight, world-famous, but behind that is a lot of hard work. A lot. There’s a famous French film director, Claude Lelouch. He was a big boxing fan, and he once said, “Boxing is the cruelest sport, but the one that is most similar to life.” In boxing, you need to have a goal and fight for it. Sometimes you deliver punches, sometimes you find yourself on the floor, and that’s when you need to find the power to stand up and fight again.

In the end, you will be the winner if you have enough heart and enough patience. Life has the same exact rules. Davy Rothbart is the creator of Found magazine , editor of the Found books , author of the story collection The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas , and a frequent contributor to public radio’s This American Life . He’s also the founder of an annual hiking trip for inner-city kids called Washington II Washington . In November, he’s visiting 15 cities in the Midwest and East Coast on the Found vs. Found tour. Previously from Davy Rothbart: Boxing: How the Klitschkos came to rule German fight game | The Independent Others Boxing: How the Klitschkos came to rule German fight game Ukrainian brothers are box-office gold in unique world of boxing in their adopted nation, so Wladimir's fight against David Haye on Saturday will set new records.

Tuesday 28 June 2011 23:00 BST Click to follow Boxing: How the Klitschkos came to rule German fight game 1/2 2/2 2010 Getty Images During the last decade the Klitschko brothers have dominated the relatively new and unique boxing business in Germany and this Saturday's fight in Hamburg is expected to be the biggest so far to feature either of the delightful émigré boxers. On Saturday there is a chance that the record for the attendance at a live fight will be shattered and there is every chance that both the number of fans watching on television and the percentage of the audience tuning in will be the best for over a decade. The Klitschko brothers are big in a business that only deals in big events and big fights, which makes it unique in the boxing world; there is no small-hall culture, no York Hall equivalent on a Tuesday night on the Rhine. All of the recent fights involving a Klitschko brother have done excellent business at the box office and on television, as has Wladimir Klitschko's opponent on Saturday, David Haye, by the way.

A Klitschko fight is an event in Germany with marquees set up near the arena or stadium to deal with the after-fight crowd. Recent entrances have included a live-set from the Pussycat Dolls, who performed from the centre of the ring, and a quite astounding ringwalk by Vitali, the elder of the two brothers, between holograms of modern heavyweights wishing him the best from behind a beam. It was a Star Trek classic. But how did the Klitschko brothers come to dominate German boxing? They simply followed fighters from the old Soviet bloc and, when it came time to discard their vests, they based their professional careers in Germany. They fought as amateurs for Ukraine and are old enough to have been part of the Soviet system that identified talented sportsmen and women and placed them in sporting academies. Wladimir won an Olympic gold in Atlanta and made his professional debut a few months later in Germany: Vitali turned professional the same night.

"The German boxing business really started in 1992 when my dad did the deal for [German boxer] Henry Maske with [TV channel] RTL," insists Kalle Sauerland, whose father Wilfred kept the business ticking over for 15 years before the Maske deal. "There are three people responsible for boxing in Germany: Wilfred Sauerland, Henry Maske and Hans Mahr of RTL because he took the risk and it looked like a risk at the time." Maske went on and had 12 world title fights between 1993 and 1996 and averaged 17.8m viewers, with a peak at 23m. The crazy thing about Maske, who was a product of the thoroughly professional East German system, was his relatively dull and predictable fights. He won 11 of the 12 world title fights, they were all in Germany and ten of the fights went the distance. "When Henry boxed it was like a national holiday," remembers Sauerland. "The Germans love their boxing but they have a funny way of showing it," said Frank Maloney, who in 1997 took his Irish heavyweight Kevin McBride to fight Axel Schulz in Berlin.

"They don't say a word, they just sit there and when it's over they go crazy. But, don't think they don't care because they show up in their thousands and they are loyal." Maske was neatly followed into the German boxing business, and the developing battle between competing television channels, by Sven Ottke, a fighter with even less flair but more skill. Ottke, who was born in West Berlin, reigned as super-middleweight world champion from 1998 until 2004 and made 21 defences and never left Germany. Also, at the same time, the Polish-born world light-heavyweight champion Dariusz Michalczewski, who had 26 world title fights between 1994 and 2005, was at his best. The Tiger, as he was known, was entertaining and 25 of his world title fights took place in Germany. In 1980 I was in Berlin at the Spandau club with a team of amateur boxers from London and we had the post-fight celebration at a bar belonging to Ottke's father. At the time there were just a few professionals in Germany, but the amateur business was thriving.

"It was an odd time to be an amateur boxer in Germany during the Eighties because there were very few options available and then it all changed," said Ottke. When the wall, which was a few minutes from Ottke's home, came down, the fighters started to arrive. "The German boxing business is different to other countries," continues Sauerland. "At Sauerland we do 12 big shows each year and that is the way the German business works; it's only big events." Last week Matthew Macklin's fight with World Boxing Association middleweight champion Felix Sturm was watched by 4.5m viewers, a figure that would be welcomed by any of Britain's terrestrial companies. In the list of the most watched sports events in German history, nine of the top ten places are currently occupied by either Maske or his heavyweight counterpart Schulz; Wladimir Klitschko will change that this weekend against Haye. Now the Klitschko brothers rule supreme, with massive outdoor fights generating crowds of more than 40,000 on a regular basis and television figures of between 11m and nearly 14m for their fights.

The brothers have performed better than the German national football team on occasion, including last year when Wladimir easily beat the reluctant "Fast" Eddie Chambers in front of 51,000 people in Dusseldorf. The fight, a one-sided massacre of another confused and unmotivated American, was watched by 13.7 million people on RTL, the biggest television audience for a sports event since the European Championships in 2008. Tickets, incidentally, for the Chambers fight at the Esprit Arena started at just €20 (£18). When Haye won the WBA title in Nuremberg in 2009 against Nikolai Valuev, who was born and raised in Russia but based locally, the television audience was 8.4m; more importantly, and amazingly, the fight was viewed by 40.5 per cent of all Germans watching television that night. The Klitschko figures dwarf that, with as many as 60 per cent of all Germans watching television on a Saturday night tuning in to watch another calculated Klitschko win. "Most of the success I have achieved has been in Germany," adds Wladimir.

"Germany feels like home and the fans feel like my fans. We love the fans, we fight for the fans and they come out and support us. It's a special relationship." A couple of years ago when I was working at Setanta, Vitali came over to work in the studio before Haye's real heavyweight debut against the American Monte Barrett. I arranged for Vitali to stay at the Hilton in Holland Park, London, and when he arrived, there was a welcoming committee of a dozen Hilton executives, bowing and falling over themselves to please Vitali. Some had even flown in from Germany to welcome him to the hotel. It was mad, and made me realise just how adored the pair are in their adopted homeland. There is simply no reason to fight in America or capture the American market. Wladimir was an ambassador for Germany's (failed) 2018 Ryder Cup bid and both brothers have the same role for Ukraine at next year's European Championships. They are smart, tall, athletically gifted and they are forever praising Mrs Klitschko, their dear old mum; dream athletes in many ways.

Wlad still talks about the purity of boxing – less so since his association with Haye, who Wlad has dubbed "the king of crudity". However, and let's get this straight right now, they are still safety-first fighters and that is why they are not stars in America. They are respected in America and the Haye fight, which will be shown on television giant HBO, could very well be the fight that changes the landscape. Haye, meanwhile, is crude, rude, ruthless, exciting and not very German. Wladimir's last three fights have been watched live by a total of 155,000 paying punters and 34m on television, and in any age, in any country, those figures are impressive. This Saturday Klitschko and Haye could set a few records of their own: richest fight in German history, most paying customers, least dignified entrance, most dignified... take your pick. Either way, it's massive business for the Klitschko brothers, who are also the promoters. A fanbase to rival football German satellite television station RTL owns sole broadcasting rights to the fights of both Klitschko brothers. RTL then sells the rights to mainland and eastern Europe.

The brothers signed a five-year extension to the deal this year. German football stadiums give the brothers access to big crowds. Over 60,000 watched Wladimir's defeat of Ruslan Chagaev in 2009 at Schalke's ground. Wladimir fought Eddie Chambers, in March 2010. It was held at the Esprit Arena in Dusseldorf, home of second-tier side Fortuna Dusseldorf, in front of 51,000 people. More about: Wladimir Klitschko - Official Website of Vitali & Wladimir Klitschko | klitschko.com Wladimir Klitschko Fights 68 W 64 (54 KOs) – L 4 Amateur record: 6′ 6½″ / 198 cm Reach: 81″ / 206 cm "All I can do is to fight every opponent who gets into my way, to always compete with the best and thus being the best champion possible.

History will assign my place in the saga of boxing", says Wladimir Klitschko, official WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO and "The Ring Magazine" heavyweight champion of the world who is also ruled as undisputed No. 1 in the heavyweight division by the bible of boxing, the "Ring Magazine". As an amateur Wladimir Klitschko won 134 of his 140 fights. Undoubtedly, his greatest achievement was the Olympic gold medal in the super heavyweight division in Atlanta 1996. After that he decided to move into professional boxing. 1999 Wladimir became European Champion when beating German Axel Schulz. In 2000, Wladimir got his first title shot against WBO Champion Chris Byrd. In that fight, Wladimir was seeking revenge for his older brother Vitali who had to give up his fight against Byrd because of a shoulder injury six months before, thus losing the WBO title to the American. Wladimir won on points getting the belt back in the family. For more than two years, he was then holding it until he was surprisingly defeated by Corrie Sanders.

Another defeat within 12 months (against Lamon Brewster) meant the low point in Wladimir’s career. Many experts (including his brother Vitali) advised Wladimir to quit with boxing. But ever since the beginning of his impressive career, Klitschko proved to be a real champion with the will to always measure up with the best. He did not think about giving up but wanted to show the world that he is a real champion. That is why he picked – just one year after his serious defeat against Brewster – nobody else than the "Nigerian Nightmare" Samuel Peter, who was known as the hardest puncher in the division at that time. Since years it was the first time again that Wladimir was not the favourite going into the fight. Anyway, Klitschko won on points after being down three times, whereas he nearly knocked out Peter himself in the final round. Klitschko was back and got a title shot against IBF world heavyweight champion Chris Byrd. Klitschko dominated the fight and knocked Byrd out in round 7. Klitschko became the new IBF world heavyweight champion and also captured the vacant IBO title.

This fight was followed by a crushing KO against undefeated Calvin Brock, America’s great hope in heavyweight boxing. Ringside at Madison Square Garden the great Muhammad Ali. In the rematch against Brewster, Klitschko showed his power and predominance which resulted in a clear victory. In February 2008, again at Madison Square Garden, Klitschko faced WBO champion Sultan Ibragimow in the first title reunion in the heavyweight division since 1999. Wladimir controlled his opponent and the entire fight to become a three time world heavyweight champion. Tony Thompson, WBO’s No. 1, was next to challenge Klitschko but he hit the canvas after another demonstration of Klitschko in round 11. IBF’s number 1, Alexander Povetkin, was scheduled for Klitschko at the end of 2008 but the Russian had to withdraw due to a foot injury. Klitschko – determined to fight – chose more than an easy replacement: Two time world heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, who knocked out Lennox Lewis in 2001. The fight ended with another KO victory to the account of Klitschko.

In 2009, Wladimir was supposed to meet David Haye in the ring for the first time. Within record time the 61.000 tickets at the soccer stadium “Schalke Arena” were sold out, but Haye blew off the bout due to an injury. Again, Klitschko did not want to cancel the event and disappoint his fans. He knew he is physically and mentally prepared to beat a great champion. That is why he took on undefeated WBA titlist Ruslan Chagaev. Klitschko won with an amazing demonstration of his power – despite a torn ligament in his shoulder. "I tried everything but was left without any chance", said unbeaten Chagaev after the fight. "Klitschko is a great champion." "Fast" Eddie Chambers came next for Wladimir. The US American was known as the quickest fighter in the division. Anyway, he was not fast enough for Klitschko who landed his steelhammer just seconds before the final bell celebrating another spectacular knockout victory. Samuel Peter in a rematch fight was the next for Wladimir.

In the sold out football arena of Frankfurt (Germany) in front of 44,000 spectators he showed a dominating performance resulting in a knockout victory in round 10. On July 2, 2011 Wladimir made boxing history when winning against British fighter David Haye in a unanimous decision to capture the WBA belt. The Klitschkos were the first siblings to unify all heavyweight belts under one family name! By then, Wladimir was WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO and “The Ring Magazine” World Heavyweight Champion while his older brother Vitali held the WBC title. Since then Wladimir successfully defended his titles against Jean-Marc Mormeck (March 2012), Tony Thompson (July 2012), Mariusz Wach (November 2012), Francesco Pianeta (May 2013), Alexander Povetkin (October 2013), Alex Leapai (April 2014), Kubrat Pulev (November 2014) and Bryant Jennings (April 2015).

On November 28 2015 Wladimir could not exploit his potential in a 12 round fight against Tyson Fury. He lost his titles in an unanimous decision to the Brit. 4 day after this loss he made use of his contractual option to fight Fury in a rematch in early 2016 for all titles lost. Klitschko proved to be a champion inside the ring, but also shows the heart of a champion outside the ring. After his knockout triumph against Brock in November 2006, Wladimir donated 285.000 Dollars of his purse to UNESCO. The money was spent for the project "Education for Children in Need" to build schools in Namibia. In 2006, the brothers Klitschko were honored by UNESCO as "Champion of Sports" for their social commitment. An honor that was bestowed only to a few sportsmen before: amongst them Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher and pole vault icon Sergey Bubka. Money raised, e. g. through the auction of the fight robe of the unification fight against Ibragimow, went into sports and youth centers in New York and Berlin.

"Kids that live on the streets can learn martial arts from qualified teachers and trainers. Doing sports trains physically, but also positively affects one’s mind and character. I like the saying: ‘A healthy mind in a healthy body’. That’s how we want to enable and support kids that don’t have much hope", says Klitschko. Creating opportunities is what drives the Klitschko brothers. After Wladimir’s win of the Olympic gold medal in 1996, the brothers established a foundation in their home country Ukraine to support underprivileged children. The foundation advocates HIV prevention and fight against drugs. They also started projects in Romania and Brazil into being. "We are always ready to help – and to fight for others", says Wladimir. Another of those fights was for democracy in the Ukraine. When the movement started off in 2004, Wladimir flew over to Kiev to support the "Orange Revolution" in their peaceful campaign. He won people’s hearts for his cause and committed stars like Boris Becker, Franz Beckenbauer, Sting, Joe Cocker and famous German TV anchor Thomas Gottschalk.

Furthermore, Germany’s former Federal President Johannes Rau (†) appointed the Klitschkos to "Ambassadors for Integration". "People around the world have many more commonalities than aspects that distinguish them. We have to emphasize on the commonalities", says Wladimir. Wladimir lives a multifaceted life: He is social ambassador, extraordinary sportsman and a caring person – a real champion, inside as well as outside the ring. Wladimir Klitschko | Ukrainian boxer | Britannica.com Wladimir Klitschko Evander Holyfield Wladimir Klitschko, (born March 25, 1976, Semipalatinsk , Kazakhstan , U.S.S.R. [now Semey, Kazakhstan]), Ukrainian boxer whose success in the heavyweight division—in part because of his prodigious size (6 feet 6 inches [1.98 metres] tall and over 240 pounds [109 kg])—included International Boxing Federation (IBF), International Boxing Organization (IBO), World Boxing Organization (WBO), and World Boxing Association (WBA) championships.

Wladimir Klitschko (right) and his brother, Vitali, posing with their world champion belts after … Herbert Knosowski/AP Klitschko and his older brother, Vitali , both showed interest in athletics from a young age. Klitschko followed his brother into amateur boxing , and, when Vitali lost his chance to compete for Ukraine in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games because of steroid use, Wladimir took his place on the team and earned the super heavyweight gold medal. As an amateur, Klitschko won 134 of his 140 fights. He made his professional debut in November 1996 in Hamburg, Germany, on the same fight card as his brother. Klitschko suffered knockout losses to American Ross Puritty (in 1998), South African Corrie Sanders (in 2003), and American Lamon Brewster (in 2004), which threatened to derail his career. He regrouped, however, under American trainer Emanuel Steward and went on an undefeated streak, winning his four championship belts between 2005 and 2011.

His run ended at 22 consecutive victories in November 2015, when Klitschko lost his titles in a unanimous decision to England’s Tyson Fury. Many of the Klitschko brothers’ bouts were held in stadiums in order to accommodate huge crowds, and they garnered record-breaking television ratings in Germany, Ukraine, and Poland. The Klitschkos’ refusal to fight each other made it difficult to ascertain which brother was the best heavyweight of the era, creating what the media frequently referred to as a “two-headed” heavyweight champion. Overall, the brothers presented a far more sophisticated public image than many other boxing champions. Each held a Ph.D. in sports science—hence their nicknames “Dr. Steelhammer” (Wladimir) and “Dr. Ironfist” (Vitali). Klitschko, a feature-length documentary film about the brothers, was released in October 2011.

Question: In which country were the boxing Klitschko brothers born?
Answer: Ukraine